1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the field of the technique that includes trimmings, upholstery and the like. It refers more specifically to the riding saddles, also called rails, and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to the parts that make up the frame of said riding saddles or saddles and more specifically to the adjustment of said frame in order to fit different shapes within a determined range of adjustment.
In order to better understand the aim and scope of the present invention, the current state of the art should be described with reference to the riding saddles or rails of the type that in some way according to the specialist of the art constitute the prior art of the present invention.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.
There exist presently on the market a variety of riding saddles, also known simply as rails, which are used for riding animals such as horses and ponies, they have evolved so as to provide more comfort and greater functionality to their users. The rails are designed to mediate between the back of the animal that supports the full weight of the rider who sits on said animal. This is why the interaction between rider and the horse is favored or worsened by the quality and the shape of the rail.
The rails of recognized quality are fine upholstery products, in which the upholstered, blown and flexible parts together with the finishing materials are placed around a semi-rigid frame that ends up being contained in its interior. Said inner frame determines to a large extent the blocking of the rail on the horse's back, and in particular the type of support on the cross of the horse.
It should be noted that the shape of the back of the animal, on which the frame is placed can vary from one animal to another and may vary with the same animal over the years, this due to the change in weight of the latter, and can even have asymmetries of the very back of the horse.
Since a proper blocking on the cross of the horse ensures comfort and performance of both the horse and the rider, some modern rails incorporate a series of curved inserts, plates or blades or exchangeable or fixed metal reinforcements of different shapes and with different angles of opening. The exchangeable reinforcements are usually screwed onto the front deck of the frame, referred to as saddle tree. These metal reinforcements have the general shape of an reversed V and have a relationship mainly with the blocking on the back of the animal, since they change the angle and the general shape of the frame itself and accordingly determine the blocking on the cross of the horse. This change in the opening of the front deck or saddle tree of the frame itself is possible, since the frames, and in particular the saddles aimed at incorporating this kind of curved exchangeable reinforcements, are made of materials that are more or less flexible, in comparison with steel. These materials, such as wood, plastics, resins and composite materials, maintain certain flexibility, in comparison with the rigidity of steel, in order to be adapted to the new angle of opening that generally depends on the curved reinforcing part.
Many of the solutions proposed worldwide in this field and currently available on the market propose to insert reinforcements and/or devices for controlling to a more or less large extent the opening of the front saddle tree of the riding saddle. However, the vast majority of the latter require to disassemble significant portions of the rail or should have at the time of adjusting a set of ancillary parts to be exchanged in the frame itself. Although the current products have gradually incorporated improvements in this meaning, there still remains the need for having a rail that permits to be modified as regards the geometry of resting on the horse's back in a novel, accessible, fast and simple way, without the need for disassembling portions of the rail.